The Third Law
by Koinaka
Summary: Newton's Third Law states that for each action, there is an equal and opposite reaction. When Bella Swan survives James's attack, she thought things would go back to normal. Instead, the attack sets off a series of events that not only changes everything but also uncovers a long kept family secret.
1. Chapter 1

Plot Summary: Newton's Third Law states that for each action, there is an equal and opposite reaction. When Bella Swan survives James's attack, she thought things would go back to normal. Instead, the attack sets off a series of events that will not only changes everything but also uncovers a long kept family secret.

Pairings: End pairings undecided. Some Edward/Bella, Stefan/Elena, Bella/Damon, and other canon pairings for both _Twilight_ and _The Vampire Diaries_.

Warnings: This is AU for both _Twilight_ and _The Vampire Diaries._ It begins after the events in _Twilight_ and before the beginning of Season One in _The Vampire Diaries_.

Disclaimer: I own nothing.

Chapter One

When Bella fled Forks with Jasper and Alice to hide in Phoenix, Arizona, she knew there would be a certain amount of fall out. For example, she had not expected to even survive the encounter. That she did so, even with her staggering injuries and the crescent moon scar on her wrist, spoke volumes to the amount of divine intervention it must have taken to save her life. What she had not expected was for everything in her life to change.

Because Bella's femoral artery was serrated—and because Edward had drank a large amount of her blood—she had to have a blood transfusion. The blood transfusion itself had not been a problem, in the end, but Bella had overheard a whispered conversation between Renee and Charlie that made her suspicious.

 _"_ _I think its time we told her, Renee. She's getting older now. If one of us hadn't been here when they did the transfusion, it could have—you know what would have happened. It could have made her really sick!"_

 _"_ _You know what we agreed to. She is never supposed to know."_

 _"_ _Yeah, well, things change."_

At first, Bella wasn't sure what they were talking about. She thought about it endlessly as she recovered from her injuries. Once she was able to move on her own with more agility, Bella decided to do some investigating. Charlie kept all of his important papers in a box in his closet. She waited for a sunny Saturday when Charlie would be fishing and Alice and Edward would be hunting to go through the papers. Fortunately, or rather unfortunately, it wasn't even that difficult to find what she was looking for. Tucked away underneath Charlie's previous tax returns was a folder containing adoption papers—her adoption papers.

She was adopted. The people she had thought were her parents were not, and that wasn't all. They had lied to her for her entire life about more than just them not being her parents. Both her name and her birthday were different—her birthday wasn't September 13th like she always thought. No, September 13th was the date her adoption went through. Her birthday was June 22. She wasn't 17 turning 18 in a few months like she thought. Instead, she would turn 17 in two weeks. And her name was really Isobel Katerina. What else could they be lying to her about? The adoption was listed as private, though, so there were no clues as to who her parents were, but she did know that she must have been born in Mystic Falls, Virginia because her birth certificate was issued from a hospital there, Mystic Falls General.

All of a sudden, she just had to get out of her house. She wanted to know more, and she knew who could find the information she needed. She grabbed her papers and her keys and headed for the door.

When Bella pulled into the Cullens' driveway, Jasper was hanging outside of the door.

"Edward's not here, Bella. He went hunting."

"I know," she told him as she struggled to get out of her truck with the boot on her leg. "I actually wanted to see you. I need your help."

Jasper looked intrigued. "Oh?"

She stopped about a foot short of Jasper. They had bonded during their trip to Phoenix, but he was the member of the family she felt the most apprehensive about, and she knew that Edward felt the same.

"You're good with research, right? Edward said you had a contact that did these sorts of things for the family."

He nodded. "That's right. Why?"

She handed him the packet of papers and waited for him to read the papers at vampire speed. His eyes widened, and he quirked a blond eyebrow at her.

"I want to know if you can find my birth parents."

"I'll get in touch with Jenks," he said. "But you're not giving me much to go on, so it may take a while."

Bella gave him a small smile. "That's fine. Thanks, Jasper. Oh, and could you not tell anyone? I want to tell Edward myself."

Jasper reassured her by sending her a wave of confidence and one of encouragement.

The feelings evaporated as she pulled out of the driveway bringing all of her doubts back. The truth was that Bella wasn't sure she wanted to tell Edward. Ever since the incident in Phoenix, he had become incredibly distant. He rarely spent the night with her, and it was even harder to get him to initiate any sort of physical intimacy than it already had been. What time they did spend together was spent arguing over Edward's refusal to change her and on his decision to suck the venom out. He hadn't even noticed how distracted she had been ever since she overheard the conversation in the hospital.

When she got back home, she couldn't sit still. She hobbled around the house. She studied the series of old pictures Charlie had of her on the fireplace mantel. It was funny, now that she thought of it, but she really didn't look much like either of her parents. Sure, she and Charlie shared the whole brown hair and brown eyes thing, but she really should have noticed the difference.

Of course, she never expected her parents to lie to her.

She was waiting at the table with the packet of adoption papers when Charlie got home.

"Bells?" he asked.

"Don't you mean Isobel?" she snapped.

Charlie's eyes widened comically, and he sank onto one of the kitchen chairs. He sighed heavily and rubbed a large hand down his face. "You know."

Bella's laugh was bitter and forced. "Actually, I don't know. Don't know my own name, my real birthday, my age... or even my own parents."

"I've wanted to tell you for a while," Charlie said. His voice sounded strangled. "I never thought it was a good idea to change your birthday or your name, but Renee insisted. When I pushed the matter, she left."

Bella frowned and cocked her head to the side. "Why didn't she want to tell me?"

Charlie shrugged. "Don't know. She never gave me a real reason. She just said it was safer."

Bella's brow furrowed in confusion. "Safer? What's that supposed to mean?"

"You would have to ask her what she meant."

"Believe me, I will," she said. Her eyes hardened, and she set her lips in a line.

"Bella, this changes nothing. You're my daughter even if we're not biologically relayed," He paused, clearly embarrassed. "I love you, Bells."

She sighed. "I love you, too, Dad. But I'm really..." she trailed off, searching for the right word, "confused. I feel like my entire world has been turned upside down. If I was just adopted then that would be one thing, but it's so much more than that. Who am I? Am I Isabella Marie Swan or Isobel Katerina? Suddenly, there's this whole other part of myself that I don't even know about. It's going to take a while for us to get back on track."

She gave Charlie a brief hug before heading upstairs. Without even changing clothes, she fell into her bed and cried herself to sleep. She slept restlessly, her confusion following her into her dream where she wandered around in the dark lost and scared.

It was late when she felt herself be moved and a cold body settled down next to her on the bed.

"Edward," she breathed, her eyes still closed. "I wasn't expecting you until the morning."

She opened her eyes when she felt a cold finger trace a line down her cheek, wiping off a tear as it did so.

"You've been crying," he said, surprised. "Is something wrong?"

She moved into she was tucked under Edward's arm and resting her face against his cold chest. She breathed in his familiar scent. "I found out something about myself today that I wasn't expecting. Apparently, I'm adopted."

Edward's reaction surprised her. "That isn't such a terrible thing, is it? Family doesn't have to be biologically connected. It takes more than blood to connect a group of people together. Look at my family. We all consider ourselves adopted, and I know that Carlisle and Esme love us just as much as our biological families."

"It's more than that. They changed my name and my birthday!"

Once again, Edward seemed nonplussed. "I'm sure there was a reason for both changes. We should talk about this more in the morning. It's quite late."

Bella bristled at Edward's dismissal and his chastisement, but when he began humming the melody of her lullaby, she fell asleep.

She was alone when she woke up making the entire encounter with Edward in the middle of the night seem like a dream. She was surprised to find herself pleased that Edward was gone. She needed to be alone for the moment to try and get her thoughts in some kind of order. She went through her morning routine in a daze. She had no idea what to think. She was still trying to process everything, incorporating the new information with the existing information.

She had no idea what she was supposed to do now. Now that she knew about everything, would anything really change? Would she go on with the charade of her being 17 and turning 18 in September, or would she adjust her birthday to reflect her actual birthday of June 22. Under the confusion, there was anger—anger at Charlie and Renee for lying to her and keeping secrets, anger at her nameless, faceless birth parents for not wanting her or loving her enough to keep her.

It was summer vacation, but Bella still liked to keep a semblance of a schedule even when she wanted nothing more than to bury herself in bed and do nothing. Once she had showered and had breakfast, she decided to do a little digging. She pulled out all of the family photo albums she could find. She was sitting cross-legged on her 1bed surrounded by her baby pictures when Edward jumped through her window. She was still a little miffed at him, so she continued looking through the pictures without speaking to him. She should have noticed. There were no pictures of her as a newborn, no pictures of her in a hospital or right after delivery. She appeared to be a few months old in the earliest pictures she could find.

She pushed the photo albums away from her, not caring when they tumbled to the floor, a disgusted noise erupting from her as she did so. When she did finally risk looking at Edward, who was sitting in her rocking chair, his disappointed look made her scowl. She raised a brow at him in challenge, but luckily, for him, he said nothing. He just eyed her warily.

Suddenly, Bella was filled with annoyance with him. Not only had he not supported her last night, but he had also chosen to treat her like a child, telling her it was too late for her to be awake, singing her to sleep, even. Of course, he had been singing her to sleep for a while, but for the first time, she felt angry by it. She also felt bothered by his coming through her window uninvited especially when she would have rather been alone. In order to avoid speaking to him for just a little longer, she took the time to pick up the fallen photo albums and put them away.

"What are you thinking?" Edward asked, studying her face intently. "I never know what is going on in that silent head of yours."

"What am I to you?" she asked. "Am I your child or your girlfriend?"

Edward looked completely taken aback. His brow was furrowed in confusion, and his lips were pulled down into a frown. "I find the term girlfriend severely lacking for what I feel for you, but for lack of a better term, yes. Why do you ask?"

"I was just thinking of your behavior. You always treat me like a child."

Edward's frown deepened. "Compared to me, you are a child, Bella. I don't understand where this is coming from."

"I may be younger than you, yes, but I am not a child. I don't need you to set a bedtime for me; I don't need you to sing me to sleep. I need for you to treat me like an equal in this relationship."

Realization crept over his face. "This is about last night. I wasn't setting a bedtime for you, Bella. I never meant to wake you up, so when I did so, the natural thing was to help you return to sleep," he paused, his expression turning hurt. "As far as my singing you to sleep goes, I thought that you enjoyed your lullaby. If you would rather I not sing to you, I won't."

Bella felt like screaming. He was missing the entire point. It wasn't his actions so much that bothered her; it was the motivations between his actions that bothered her. " _Compared to me, you are a child._ " She would always be a child to him since he refused to change her. She didn't  
mention that because she had no desire to open that can of worms at the moment. There was no reason to borrow trouble today from tomorrow.

"Fine," she sighed. "I guess I'm being a little sensitive because of this entire adoption thing."

"I understand. Would you like a distraction? I thought we could visit the meadow seeing as it is supposed to be sunny this afternoon."

She shook her head. "Not today. I'm going to call Renee in a bit and see if I can get her to tell me anything about my birth parents. Charlie said that the entire reason she changed my name and birthday and kept everything from me was because it was safer. I want to know what kind of danger I could have been in as a baby."

"Perhaps it would be better if you just left things as they are," he suggested. "I'm sure Renee had a good reason for keeping things hidden. Why do you want to stir things up?"

"I'm not... _stirring things up_ ," she spat. "I'm trying to find out things about myself that I need to know. When Alice decided to research her human family, you were supportive of her. All I'm asking is for you to support me in this, or if you can't muster that, then at least pretend to be supportive."

"Alice researching her human family posed no danger to her whereas you know that Renee kept this information from you to keep you safe. I do support you, Bella, but I think it would be foolhardy for you to continue."

Now Bella was the one to study his face. There was actual worry in his eyes although the expression on his face was one of simple concern. She had seen this look on his face before—mostly when he had been keeping things from her. Specifically things that Alice had seen.

"What did Alice see?" she demanded. "What's going on?"

He flinched and then stiffened for the briefest moment before a look of disinterest settled over his face. "Nothing is going on."

The problem was that Bella had always been observant, and she knew Edward well enough to read his expressions. He might fool an outsider, but he couldn't fool her. She crossed her arms over her chest, cocked her head to the side, and lifted one brow. The look on her face said it all.

Edward said nothing. He merely lifted one brow in return. His expression remained the same. He was unflappable.

They had come to a stalemate it seemed as neither side appeared to be backing down. Bella finally shrugged.

"Well, if nothing is going on...if Alice hasn't seen anything, then there's no reason for me to call Renee now, so problem solved."

Her boyfriend groaned in frustration. "Why can you not just listen to reason?"

"You can't have it both ways," she told him. "Either Alice has seen something that makes me investigating further dangerous—in which case, you should tell me—or she hasn't seen anything, and it is perfectly safe for me to do so. So which is it?"

He hissed out a sequence of angry words, pinching his noise between his thumb and his finger, before finally settling his unhappy expression on Bella. "The problem is that Alice _can't_ see anything. Whenever you make a decision to look into your birth family, your future goes blank. That's why I came home early from hunting. When she saw your future go black, I left immediately to see to your wellbeing."

"Hmmm, that is strange," she allowed, "but I'm not going to stop investigating my birth family just because Alice can't see me. I refuse to believe that simply calling Renee could be dangerous."

"Bella, be reasonable."

Bella sighed. "I was about to say the same thing to you."

Edward quickly rose from the rocking chair and began to ace around the bedroom. He pushed his hands through his already messy bronze hair, making it even messier.

"After what happened in Phoenix, I can't bear the idea of you in danger. I almost lost you once before. I won't let it happen again. Your safety is paramount to me."

She sighed at his low, urgent voice. She could tell that he was being truthful. He was legitimately concerned about her safety. Still, he was being completely unreasonable, overprotective, and not to mention ridiculous.

"Look, I get that you have come to rely on Alice's visions, but I'm not going to stop just because she can't see what happens."

Luckily for her, Edward dropped the subject. She knew it was only the beginning though. He didn't linger at her house much longer, choosing instead to continue his hunt as planned. Bella spent a while doing laundry and other chores before she couldn't stand to wait any longer. She closed herself in her bedroom for privacy in case Charlie came home early and called Renee.

She answered on the first ring with a cheerful cry of, "Bella! I'm so glad to hear from you. Phil and I are sunbathing by the pool. You'll have to visit us soon, darling, and get some sun."

"Maybe," Bella said when she was able to get a word in edgewise.

Renee rambled on about some remodeling her and Phil were planning to do on their new house for a few minutes before Bella finally interrupted her.

"Mom, not that I don't enjoy talking to you, but I did call for a reason."

There was a pause. "Oh? What's going on? Is everything okay?"

Bella took a deep breath. "Who are my birth parents?"

"What did you just say?" she asked after a moment. Her voice was no longer cheerful. Instead, she sounded shocked and unusually tense.

"I think you heard me. I want to know who my birth parents are."

"Who told you?" Renee asked after several seconds of silence.

"Does it matter?"

Renee exhaled harshly. "No, it doesn't, but if you called me looking for answers, you're going to be disappointed because I'm not going to tell you anything."

Bella swallowed and blinked furiously at the tears that were welling up in her eyes. Renee had disappointed her a number of times as a child. She had always been so scattered, so child-like, leaving Bella to practically raise herself and Renee along with her. She had always been the one who had to make sure there were lights on in whatever house they lived in and that there was food in the refrigerator. Instead of Renee making sure Bella had her homework done, Bella was the one making sure Renee went to work on time and paid the bills on time. The one time she asked Renee for something she refused.

"Fine, then I have nothing left to say to you," she finally said before hanging up the phone.

She threw herself down on her bed and closed her eyes, mentally checking Renee off of her list. The list of people she could count on was dwindling, getting smaller and smaller.

A bell tone from her phone tore her from her thoughts a few minutes later. She opened her eyes. Who could be texting her now? She sighed and checked her phone to see a text message from Alice.

 _How would you feel about going on a trip_?

Bella pursed her lips and called Alice. "What sort of trip?" she asked, not even giving her the chance to say hello.

Alice let out a peal of bell-like laughter. "A trip to a little city in Virginia."

"I thought Edward said your visions aren't working right now when it comes to me."

Bella heard Alice make a disgusted noise. "They haven't gone completely blank. Besides, I think you know that Edward's just a teensy bit overprotective when it comes to you. Anyway, it's not his decision, it's yours."

"Won't he be mad at you if you help me?"

"Don't worry about him. You let me take care of my brother. In fact, I'll take care of everything. All you need to do is pack—if you're saying yes, that is."

Bella sighed but couldn't help the small smile that spread across her face. "Yes, I'm saying yes. I definitely want to go to Mystic Falls."

"I may not be able to see what will happen, Bella, but I have a feeling this is the right thing to do, and you know what they say: _never bet against Alice_. You made sure that I would be able to find out about my family history, so I want to repay the favor."

When the conversation with Alice had ended, Bella felt relieved. Now that she had some sort of plan for discovering who her birth family was, she could finally acknowledge something she had kept hidden from everyone. In the weeks since the attack, Bella had begun to experience certain changes. She hadn't noticed them at first because they had been subtle, but as time went on, she began to take more notice of the changes.

The first things she noticed was that her senses had become keener. She noticed this mostly when she was at Edward's house because she sometimes overheard conversations that she knew were taking place out of the human range of hearing. It was more than her hearing though. Her senses of sight and smell had also increased.

The second thing she noticed was that her appearance had also seemed to change. It was nothing too extreme. The color of her hair had become richer while it's length had grown, changing her simply wavy hair into more defined curls. Her skin had also become smoother and paler. She hadn't noticed any real difference in her facial structure or anything else. She could almost believe that she was imagining the changes or that they were the result of her taking more vitamins or simply growing up. If it hadn't been for the changes to her senses, then perhaps she would believe that. Combined with those changes, though, it was strange, and she had no explanation for it.

She had tried to subtly probe Carlisle about the occurrences without giving away anything because she was sure that if she told them that Edward would overreact. Carlisle was no help though because he had never heard of anyone surviving a vampire's bite since the venom was absolute. He had also been adamant that Edward had removed all of the venom from her blood stream.

She sighed and examined the bite mark in question. It had healed, yes, but there was still a perfect indentation of James's teeth marks not to mention the fact that the skin there was much cooler than the surrounding skin and that if the sunlight hit the mark in a certain way, it would glitter and sparkle like Edward's skin.

She should probably tell one of the Cullens about the changes, but to what avail? Edward would definitely overreact. Carlisle might not overreact, but he would definitely be a healthy combination of worried and curious. She did not want to become a specimen for study, which was definitely one possibility. What else would you do with the one human who was able to keep her thoughts hidden from a mind reader, and who survived a venomous vampire bite? She was pretty sure she wasn't slowly changing into a vampire because she think she would notice the hunger for blood, but since this was something completely unheard of, she had no idea what was in store for her future.

The two weeks leading up to Bella's departure from Forks was tense and uncomfortable. Bella spent equal parts worried someone would notice her changes and equal part angry at most of the people in her life. She still wasn't exactly on friendly terms with Charlie though his easy acceptance of her going to Mystic Falls had served as a soothing balm to the hurt of his deception. She still wasn't speaking to Renee, but Renee was having a difficult time understanding that and called her at least once a day and sent her multiple text messages and e-mails between calls. Bella ignored them all.

Edward, on the other hand, was making things excessively difficult for her. Instead of being supportive like she had hoped, he was all doom and gloom. His protests had the opposite effect, though, because the more he told her she shouldn't go, the more she clung to going. The only thing his protests had done was cause the gulf between them to widen. She refused to be treated like a child by him. When he finally saw that he could not convince her to not go, his new goal became to convince her to allow him to go with her. She refused. She had no idea what to expect from her trip, but she knew that she needed—and wanted—to make the trip alone. Plus, his unsupportive attitude made her both angry and hurt in turns.

It was not like she was being unreasonable. She had made certain concessions. She had reluctantly agreed to staying in the house that Alice purchased—as an investment or so she said—and she had allowed Alice to cajole her into accepting the black American Express credit card if for no other reason that she had no idea how long this trip would take or how much money she would need. Well, that and the fact that when she tried to give it back, it found its way into her wallet again. She figured the card wasn't something new since it was ready to go with her name imprinted on the front of it from the minute she agreed. She had even agreed to Edward renting her a car for the duration of the trip although she had a feeling it wouldn't end up being a rental. He had always made his displeasure at her rusty, reliable truck known.

It was dark and rainy the day Bella left Forks, Washington. She had breakfast with Charlie, who had managed to cook her bacon and eggs almost to perfection, before he left for work that morning. They didn't talk much, but Charlie had pulled her into a tight hug when they finished eating.

"I love you, kiddo," he told her, his voice rough with tears.

Bella nodded into his chest. "I love you, too, Dad."

He left with a warning for Bella to be careful and a plea for her to call him when she arrived.

She puttered around the house uselessly until it was time for Edward to pick her up. He was supposed to drive her to the airport in Port Angeles. Thanks to her newly enhanced hearing, Bella opened the door the second she heard the car pull into the driveway. She was surprised and hurt to find that it was not Edward driving his silver Volvo. Instead, it was Alice. The hurt must have been obvious on her face because Alice was quick to sweep her into a hug.

"He's just sulking, Bella. It's not often that he doesn't get his way," she tried to explain as she loaded Bella's luggage—what was likely ridiculously expensive luggage—into the trunk of the Volvo.

"Yeah, sure," she murmured.

His refusal to drive her to the airport was only one of the many ways he had shown her his displeasure since discovering her plan to go to Mystic Falls. The other ways mostly included him distancing himself from her. In the previous two weeks, Bella could count on one hand the amount of times she had seen him. He didn't come to her at night anymore. Instead, she only saw him when she went to his home, and even then, he was distant because her visits typically included either discussing the upcoming trip with Alice or the search for her birth parents with Jasper, two subjects that he did not like.

Before Bella boarded the plane, Alice pulled her into another tight hug.

"No matter what happens between you and Edward, Bella, I want you to know that you are still a part of the Cullen family. We love you—I love you. I told you once that we were going to be the best of friends, and I stand by that. Edward's presence in your life is not a requirement for that."

"Thanks, Alice. You have no idea how much that means to me."

Alice laughed and pressed her cold lips to Bella's cheek. "I think I do." She paused and pulled out a manila envelope from her oversized bag. "This is from Jasper. He's managed to find some information for you. Don't open it until tomorrow at the Mystic Grill."

With those last words, Alice was gone. Bella took a deep breath and steeled herself against her rising nerves. She could do this. She was going to go to Mystic Falls and find her birth family.

Consequences be damned.


	2. Chapter 2

Plot Summary: Newton's Third Law states that for each action, there is an equal and opposite reaction. When Bella Swan survives James's attack, she thought things would go back to normal. Instead, the attack sets off a series of events that will not only changes everything but also uncovers a long kept family secret.

Pairings: End pairings undecided. Some Edward/Bella, Stefan/Elena, Bella/Damon, and other canon pairings for both _Twilight_ and _The Vampire Diaries_.

Warnings: This is AU for both _Twilight_ and _The Vampire Diaries._ It begins after the events in _Twilight_ and before the beginning of Season One in _The Vampire Diaries,_ but some events in canon may be altered due to Bella's presence.

Disclaimer: I own nothing.

Author's note: Thanks for all of the reviews/follows/favorites! Some notes about this chapter, the house Alice bought is the 2nd foreclosed house that Isobel lived in in the show, but since this is set prior to the beginning of season 1, I think that's okay. Also, I'm playing playing with canon in relation to both Jasper's and Katherine's history in order to make things a little easier for myself and to better combine both stories. Damon is present in this chapter even though it's prior to the start of season 1. I'm assuming that since we know he was there prior to season 1 because he met Elena before her parents died and compelled her to forget him that he stayed around Mystic Falls.

Chapter Two

Bella really shouldn't have been surprised. She had given both Alice and Edward—to some extent—cart blanche, so she wasn't sure why she was so shocked by what they had done. When Alice had told her the house had been a bargain—" _It's a foreclosure, Bella. A steal, really_ "—she had expected a humble looking home. After all, she was only one person. She didn't need a huge house to live in especially when she was only going to be in Mystic Falls temporarily. She really should have expected Alice to go overboard. So, when the taxi pulled into the driveway of one of the most exquisite houses she had ever seen, she just sighed in resignation before paying the driver and pulling her suitcase up the small staircase leading to the porch.

The house was huge with four large columns along the front porch. She couldn't tell much from the outside other than it was much too large for her and that it had a balcony she was desperate to stand on. She absolutely loved it.

She let out an uncharacteristic squeal before unlocking the door and heading inside. She walked through the entry way and past the beautiful staircase into the living area, her eyes flitting to and fro in order to catch every single detail, as if it would disappear in front of her. Alice had obviously had a hand in the furnishings as well. She was surprised that Alice was able to take care of so much in such a small time frame, but she supposed that money was an excellent motivator for most people.

Bella sank down onto the leather couch and breathed a sigh of relief. She was finally in Mystic Falls. It was really happening. She sent a quick text to Alice letting her know she had arrived before getting up. She spent the next hour or so exploring the house. She had to give it to Alice because the furnishings were great. While Bella could tell that all of the furnishings were definitely well made and no doubt expensive, she didn't feel like she was sitting in a museum.

The master bedroom, in particular, was gorgeous. The bed was a large, four-poster oak-finished canopy bed with a fabric canopy on the top of it. She wasn't sure she had ever seen such a large bed before. It definitely dwarfed the double-sized bed she had at home. There was also a set of nightstands with mirrors on each one along with a large dresser each in a similar style as the bed.

She trailed her fingers across the topaz-colored bedding set as she walked by the bed pulling her suitcase behind her. She decided to go ahead and unpack mostly in an attempt to waylay her curiosity about the manila envelope that was now burning a hole in her messenger bag. She huffed an annoyed sigh when she realized that the drawers of the nine-drawer dresser were not empty as they should be. Instead, they were filled clothing that she knew did not belong to her or at least that she had not purchased. After emptying her suitcase of what she had brought with her, she made her way to the walk-in closet. She knew what to expect, but she was no less annoyed when she saw that the closet as well was filled with clothing. Although she was pleased to see that at least the style of clothing was more to her liking than Alice's usual choices. Her eyes did narrow when she noticed a multitude of elegant dresses in a variety of styles and colors. Surely there was no reason for her to need _those_?

She pulled her phone out to make an impassioned phone call to a certain vampire just as her phone beeped with a new message. She struggled momentarily with unlocking the new iPhone 3GS that she had found in place of her usual, easy to use flip phone the previous day thanks to one of the many Cullens, no doubt.

"There's no use arguing," Alice told her after allowing the phone to ring only once.

Bella groaned. "It's too much, Alice, really! You know I don't like expensive gifts!"

She could almost hear Alice shrugging. "Well, too bad. You're a Cullen in everything but name. Family takes care of each other." She paused. "Please, Bella, let us do this for you. Money is really no object. I just... I know that you've always had to take care of yourself, and I wanted someone to take care of you for once."

Alice's voice and words rang with sincerity and earnestness, so instead of arguing fruitlessly, Bella just agreed. "Okay," she said reluctantly. "But this had better be it for surprises..."

"I promise. No more surprises from me!"

Bella narrowed her eyes at Alice's words. "From _you_? Does that mean someone else has some sort of surprise for me?"

"Technically, yes, but only because the car couldn't be delivered until tomorrow. You can't be angry with me about the car because that was all Edward. I was able to convince him that you wouldn't want a sports car, so really you should thank me!"

She sighed. "Fine. I guess I should go then. I'm still looking around. This place is great."

Alice let out a pleased squeal. "See! I knew you would like it. The kitchen is fully stocked, so don't worry about that! Also, Edward should be calling you sometime tonight to grovel and beg your forgiveness though he doesn't deserve it."

Bella frowned momentarily before scowling. She was still angry with Edward, and she had no idea if she was ready to make nice with him. "Thanks for the warning. I'll call you tomorrow after opening the envelope."

She spent the rest of the afternoon mapping out her favorite rooms in the house. Besides her bedroom, she also loved this little sunroom on the bottom floor. It was off of the entry way and aside from being filled with windows on three sides; there was a comfy chaise lounge that would be perfect for reading while soaking in the sunshine. She had also found a more relaxing living room space with a large television mounted on the wall and a sectional sofa. Bella didn't watch much television, but she figured it would be used at some point.

Edward still had not called by the time Bella made herself a chef salad for dinner. She ate alone at the small breakfast nook in the kitchen. When she was done, she went up to her bedroom to watch the sunset on her balcony. She thought it was amazing. She stayed on the balcony for a while, enjoying the muggy summer weather. It was certainly warmer than Forks, but the heat in Virginia was much different than the heat of Arizona. At any rate, she was looking forward to spending the summer in a place where it wouldn't be cloudy or rainy the majority of the time. She bet that was the reason why Alice had bought her new clothes. No doubt few of hers would be ready for an actual summer. Bella waited for Edward to call the rest of the night, but despite his promise—via Alice, of course—to call, he never did so.

She slept late the next day, not waking until nearly 11 am when she heard the doorbell chime from downstairs. Knowing that it wasn't likely a visitor at the door but the person to deliver the car, Bella went downstairs with her pajamas on after pulling her hair into a messy ponytail to answer the door. She almost sighed in relief when she saw the car in question. It was a black Mini-Cooper convertible, and while she knew that it was likely expensive, it could have been much worse especially considering the cars she knew the Cullens owned.

"Have a good day, Miss Swan," the deliveryman said, handing her the keys after she had signed all of the necessary paper work.

She thanked the deliveryman and headed back inside to get ready. In just a few minutes, she would be able to open up the manila envelope and see what Jasper had found!

Bella pulled into the lone restaurant in town, Mystic Grill, just before noon. It looked like a nice enough place. There was a bar area and fairly large dining area along with a pool table in the corner and stage for concerts or other events. Her eyes swept across the restaurant while she waited for the hostess to seat her. A few people were sitting at some of the tables and a black haired man was sitting at the bar, but other than that, it appeared quiet. When a blonde haired hostess finally came over, she led Bella to the table tucked away in the back that she had requested.

She was about to open the envelope when a cute waiter, who reminded her of Mike Newton, approached her. A wide smile spread across his face when he saw her.

"Elena, I didn't expect to see you in here today. How are you feeling?"

Bella stared at the boy wide-eyed for a moment. "Um, I think you're getting me confused with someone else. My name is not Elena."

The boy frowned and a look of confusion settled on his face. "But you look just like her. I don't understand."

She gave the boy an apologetic smile. "I don't know why I look like your friend. Sorry."

He paused for a moment before shaking his head. "No, I'm sorry. Let me start over. Hi, my name is Matt, and I'll be your waiter for the day. Can I get you something to drink to start off with?"

Bella laughed. "Just some coffee for now, thanks."

A few minutes later she was sipping on coffee and once again about to open the envelope when Edward called her. The conversation started off normal enough. All "I-love-you" and "I'm so sorry about not driving you to the airport" before it deteriorated into the same fight they had been having ever since she decided to come to Mystic Falls.

"It's not safe for you there alone," Edward said. "Please try to grasp that, Bella. I can't protect you if you're on the other side of the country alone."

Bella sighed and pushed a curl out of her face. "Edward, I _told_ you. We've had this conversation before. This is something I have to do for myself."

A tense silence fell over them. When Edward replied, his voice was low and intense. "You don't understand. Alice's visions concerning you have gotten worse. She can only see you sporadically. How do you think I feel when she sees your future go black? I can't bear the thought that you might be in danger. If you would just let me come..."

"No!" She snapped, louder than she had intended. She took a deep breath and looked around to make sure no one was looking her way, but she was still alone in her corner. She lowered her voice significantly before continuing.

"Look, normal people don't have psychic vampire supervision or protective vampire boyfriend body guards, and they manage to survive. You might not believe it, but I managed to live for years before I even knew you. In fact, I think that I've been in more dangerous situations since I met you than before, or don't you remember how you nearly drained me dry the first day we met? We've had this conversation before. If you are so concerned about me being safe every minute of the day, then you know what you can do to change that. If you hadn't sucked the venom out then none of this would even be a concern right now because I wouldn't be some weak little human."

"You are being ridiculous, Bella. I have told you over and over again that I refuse to damn you to an eternity of darkness."

Bella's voice was cold when she responded. "That's your choice. But I'm not some porcelain doll that you can keep locked away in a glass case. I agreed to all of your stipulations. I'm staying in a house with the security system tighter than Fort Knox that Alice _bought_ instead of just staying in a hotel like a normal person. I'm driving the expensive car you insisted on. I'm talking to you on the phone that I can barely operate just so you will know where I am in case something happens. I even agreed to call on Jasper's friends Peter and Charlotte if I do somehow manage to get into some kind of trouble since they're nearby. I don't know why Alice can't see me in her visions, but she isn't worried about it, so I don't see why you are."

Edward made a noise of frustration. "Alice's visions have never been compromised this way before. You can't just expect me to—"

"Yes, I can, and I do. I've been in town for less than twenty-four hours, and I have been safe the entire time. It's not like this place is a booming metropolis like Phoenix; it's smaller than Forks, and that's saying something. I'm currently sitting in the only restaurant in town, and when I leave here, I'm going to go down the road to the library. If I'm feeling really crazy, I might see if I can find out where they keep the birth records. I'm not here on some vacation. All I want to do is to learn more about my birth family, and if you don't get that, then I don't know what else to tell you." She hung up the phone without saying good-bye.

She dropped her face into her hands and took several deep breaths. She massaged her forehead in an attempt to stave off her impending headache. When the phone rang again less than a minute later, she didn't even bother looking at the caller id.

"Fine," she said, her voice tired and weary. "If you think I'm in so much danger, which by the way, I still believe is completely untrue, I'll agree to an escort, but I don't want it to be you. Send Jasper, if he'll agree to come."

She could tell he was hurt when he finally replied, but she was beyond caring. "If I've done something to offend you, Bella—"

"If? You haven't supported me from the minute I told you that I wanted to come here and research my birth family. I don't understand why you don't get that this is so important to me, but I can't keep having this same conversation with you. Now, if you don't want me to be alone, send Jasper. Otherwise, I don't want to hear from you until you can at least pretend to support me in this."

She hung up on him for the second time and turned the phone off before dropping it into her messenger bag. She took in a shaky breath and brushed away the traitorous tears she hadn't even realized were falling off of her cheeks. She hated arguing with Edward, and it was all they seemed to do lately. If he wasn't pushing her away, they were fighting.

She jumped in shock when someone put a hand on her shoulder. She looked up to find Matt staring down at her.

"Hey, everything okay?" he asked, a genuine look of concern on his face.

She tried to give him a reassuring smile, but she was sure it fell flat. "Oh, yeah. Yes. I'm fine."

When she was alone again, Bella decided it was finally time to open the envelope before something else could interrupt her. Inside were two smaller envelopes. One was labeled Katherine Pierce, and the other was labeled The Gilbert Family. Inside each were photographs along with notes written in Jasper's small, precise handwriting.

Bella looked at the pictures in Katherine Pierce's envelope first. The photographs were random and hardly any of her directly. They mostly seemed to be pictures of a girl who looked so like Bella that she would almost think that she was looking at photographs of herself if she didn't know better. Jasper had labeled each picture with a date and place. The earliest picture was from the 1990's while the newest pictures were from only months ago. However, the girl did not seem to age at all which confused Bella. She didn't appear to be a vampire, but what other explanation could there be? She looked over Jasper's notes.

 _Katherine Pierce—1864 Mystic Falls, Virginia, from Atlanta (?) Family supposedly died in fire (no surviving records of a Pierce family or of a Katherine Pierce), lived with Salvatore family, romantically involved (?) with both Damon and Stefan Salvatore, disappeared in 1864/died (?) in Fell Church fire_

 _Cover story—told to Maria in 1875 (? Difficult to know exact date as it was a chaotic time)_

 _History—unknown (check with Slater in Richmond—will call with more information)_

Beneath this, there was an actual note addressed to her:

 _Bella,_

 _You must excuse me for not being honest with you for all of these months. When I first saw you in the cafeteria, I initially thought that you were Katherine, which is why I fought so hard for my family to avoid contact with you. I met Katherine in the 1870's when she sought Maria's help. There is much that has been kept from you including the existence of another type of vampire. They refer to themselves simply as vampires, but within our circles, we call them magical vampires as they were created by magic some thousand years ago according to legend. Magical vampires may have some weaknesses we do not have, but they have abilities, such as the ability to blend into the human population as well as to feed from humans without turning them which makes them uniquely dangerous. Katherine is a vicious vampire who cares for nothing and no one except for her own well-being. I have not seen or heard from Katherine since I left Maria's army, but one of my contacts was able to gather these pictures by tapping into some governmental facial recognition software—the less said, the better—so I thought you might be interested in them. I don't know why the two of you look so similar, but she may be a relative of yours. Perhaps another contact of mine, Slater, will know. He collects information on as many vampires—of both kinds—as he can. I will call you later with more information on Slater._

When she was finished reading Jasper's letter, she looked through the pictures in the Gilbert family envelope. They were tons of pictures. There was a series of school pictures of a girl who was identical to Bella in every way (although her hair was straight and Bella's tended to be a mess of waves and curls unless she took the time to straighten it). There were also pictures of the same girl with a dark-haired boy and a dark-haired couple along with some pictures of the girl in some sort of cheer competition.

She could feel her breathing begin to increase. She knew this had to be her family. She had a sister—she had an identical twin sister. There was someone—two someones if you included this Katherine vampire—out there who was identical to her.

 _Gilbert family—Grayson Gilbert and Miranda Gilbert—died May 2009 in car accident, daughter Elena_

 _Gilbert—birthday June 22, 1992 (Same as Bella's true birthday—suspicious ), son Jeremy Gilbert_

 _John Gilbert—Grayson Gilbert's younger brother (address unknown, phone number 804-867-5309)_

Bella read through the notes several times, her eyes lingering on the name Elena. Earlier, Matt had thought _she_ was Elena. If they had the same birthday and they looked the same, then... they had to be twins. But that didn't make sense... if they were twins, why would they have been split up? What sense did it make to keep one baby and to give the other one up? She may never know since Grayson and Miranda Gilbert died just weeks ago.

She felt so disheartened. For every question she had answered, three more questions popped up. Sighing, Bella stuffed the information back into the packet and the packet back into her messenger bag.

Suddenly, she had no desire to do anything but head back to her house and fall into bed, so that was what she was going to do. The fight with Edward plus looking through the packet was a bit much for one day. She paid her bill and went to the bathroom.

Once in the bathroom, Bella splashed some water in her face and examined her face in the mirror. She compared her features to both Katherine Pierce and Elena Gilbert. The three of them really did look identical, the same dark hair and the same exact face. It was more than a little disturbing.

With a sigh, Bella left the bathroom and headed for the door. Just before she made it to the door, she caught her foot on an uneven part of the flooring and fell face first. She threw her arms out and tensed up in preparation for the impact on the floor, but it never came. Instead, someone caught her in their arms.

"I'm sorry. I wasn't paying attention to where I was going at all," she apologized.

She looked up to find the man she had run into staring at her with a strangely intense look on his face. He was definitely attractive, though in a more roguish, devil-may-care way than she was used to with curly unkempt hair and piercing blue eyes. She tried to pull away from him, but his arms were wrapped solidly around her from where he had caught her.

"No problem. I'm always glad for a beautiful girl to fall into my arms," he said with a mischievous grin on his face.

She tried once again, unsuccessfully, to pull herself free. "I have to go. Thanks for catching me..." she trailed off, hoping that he would supply his name for her.

He cocked one of his brows, but did fill in his name only for her become even more surprised. "Damon Salvatore, at your service"

Her eyes widened when she heard his name. Damon Salvatore...the same name of the man Jasper said had been involved with Katherine Pierce in the 1860's. She could have dismissed it all as a coincidence if the man had not been starring at her as if he was seeing a ghost...or Katherine. Could he be one of the magical vampires Jasper had told her about? If he was and he knew Katherine, then that could explain why he was starring at her so intensely.

Her phone ringing in her messenger bag pulled her out of her thoughts. Thankfully, the ringing pulled him out of his thoughts as well because his grip slackened, and he let her go.

"I have to go, but really, thank you." She gave him a small smile. "I'm Isobel. It was nice to meet you."

She wasn't sure why she introduced herself as Isobel, but it felt right for her. Here, in this place, she would be Isobel. Her phone was still ringing, so she didn't wait for a response. She walked out of the restaurant into the sunlight, digging in her messenger bag as she walked to her car. By the time she managed to free the phone from the bag, it wasn't ringing anymore, which was, really, just her luck. She did breath a sigh of relief to see that it was Alice's name on the caller id and not Edward's. She called the number back as she unlocked the door to her car and slid inside.

"Hello Bella," Alice bell-like voice chirped. "I've already purchased Jasper's ticket. He will be there tomorrow morning at approximately 8:30 am."

Bella rolled her eyes. Of course she had already bought the ticket. "Should I pick him up?"

"No, don't bother with that. He will rent a car. It is going to be cloudy in the morning, so he should be fine."

Bella pulled out of the parking lot and headed towards the hospital after ending the call with Alice. Going to the hospital turned out to be a big bust. She had forgotten about all of the federal laws around privacy and medical records, so she wouldn't find out anything that way. The library had loads of information regarding the founding families, but absolutely nothing about Katherine Pierce. She did find herself drawn to reading about the Salvatore family, her mind going back to the man/possible vampire she had run into earlier. Since she couldn't check out any of the books, she spent an hour or so in the library making copies of anything she thought would be important.

She was exhausted and uneasy by the time she pulled into her driveway. She mechanically made dinner for herself before taking a long bath. By the time she was dressed into a pair of pajamas and pulling a wide-tooth comb through her hair, she had calmed down enough to call Edward back. She peered outside the open door leading onto the balcony when she heard a loud cawing noise. There was a crow sitting on top of one of the chairs on the balcony simply staring at her. She had never seen one this up close before. She put the crow out of her mind when Edward finally answered the phone.

"Hello Bella. I didn't expect to hear from you again today." His melodic voice was withdrawn and careful.

She hadn't intended to call him, but she needed someone to talk to about what she had found out today. She was too angry with Charlie and Renee to call them, but even then, Edward had been her closest friend for months.

So, she just blurted it out. "Jasper found out that I have a twin sister."

There was a pause. "Come again?"

"I'm pretty sure that I have a twin sister. Jasper found some photographs of a girl from here, Elena Gilbert, and he gave them to me. It was strange. We're completely identical other than the way we wear our hair."

"Have you contacted her?" he asked.

She laughed bitterly. "And say what? Hi, I'm the twin sister you never knew you had. You know, the one our parents didn't want?"

"Have you considered that your parents may have put you both up for adoption?"

She hesitated. "I suppose. It doesn't matter in the end."

"True, but it doesn't make the situation hurt any less. Charlie and Renee's love for you is absolute, whether they are your biological parents or not, Bella. I've heard their thoughts, you know."

She went outside on the balcony and sat in the chair opposite of where the crow was still sitting. It was curious to see a bird so nonplussed by the presence of a human not to mention intently watching a human as the crow seemed to be doing. "I know. I miss you. I don't like it when we fight, and it's all we seem to do anymore."

"I'm not fond of it either. I'll feel better when you're back home, and I can ensure your safety once more."

Bella wanted to groan in frustration. "I keep telling you. You can't have it both ways, Edward. As long as I am human, I will never be safe. I could get into a car accident and die in the morning; I could contract some disease and die months from now. I can't force you to change me—I don't want to have to either. I want you to want me for eternity—But if you want me to stay human, then you are going to have to accept the fact that you won't always be there to keep me safe."

"This discussion is over. I won't turn you into a monster."

She scoffed loudly. "Discussion? This isn't a discussion. It's never been one with you. That's part of the problem. You just make decisions and assume I will just fall in line behind you. So, let me ask you a question. If I remain human, how do you see our life playing out?"

"I will stay by your side as you live your life."

Bella's mouth fell open in surprise. How incredulous could he be! "And when I get so old that people think I'm your mother? Your grandmother?"

"You will always be the most beautiful thing in my world."

What a load of crap. "And when I _die_?" she spat.

He hesitated briefly. "Then, I will follow you."

Bella threw herself out of the chair and paced angrily around the small balcony. "That is just sick! I don't even know what to say to that!" She threw her free hand up in exasperation. "You just don't get it. The kind of life you are describing is no kind of life at all for me! I can't live half in my world and half in yours. More importantly, Edward, I refuse to do so because in the little scenario you are describing, I will never be an equal in our relationship. You will always be the one making the decisions, and I will always be the delicate human who needs to be protected from the big, bad dangerous world. I'm not saying I want you to turn me now. I just want you to promise me that you will."

"I'm not going to have this conversation with you tonight. You're obviously overwrought. We'll speak again in the morning. Good-bye Bella."

Hot tears of anger welled up in her eyes. She was tired of him talking to her like she was a child. She was being overwrought? He was being ridiculous! She wiped the tears away and pushed Edward from her mind. She may not have been successful today, but she did have a lead she could follow. She had John Gilbert's phone number.

She dialed the phone number and waited for her potential uncle to answer the phone. It rang and rang and rang. Just when she was ready to hang up, a male answered the phone.

"This better be good," the man barked.

Bella hesitated. "Hello, I'm looking for John Gilbert."

There was a brief moment of silence before the man responded. "Well, you've found him. What do you want?"

"I was hoping you could give me some information about your brother and his wife."

"Yeah? Now, why would I do that?"

She sighed at John's suspicious tone of voice. "Because I'm pretty sure they're my birth parents."

"Who are you, and how did you get this number?"

She was taken aback at the hostility in his voice, but she swallowed nervously before taking a deep breath. "Bella Swan, but my birth name was Isobel. I only found out I was adopted a few weeks ago, and I've been looking for information about my birth parents ever since."

"And why would you think my deceased brother and sister-in-law are your birth parents?"

"I didn't think they were until today. I only knew that I was born in Mystic Falls, but then today I saw a picture of their daughter, and well, we're identical. Pretty hard to ignore that."

She heard a deep intake of breath before he spoke once more. "Some things are better left unknown, Miss Swan. I suggest you leave well enough alone."

Bella closed her eyes briefly as his words sunk in. He was obviously not going to be of any help. "With all due respect, Mr. Gilbert, it's too late for me to go back to not knowing. I won't bother you again. Thank you for your time."

"Wait! Don't hang up." There was a pause. "Are you still in Phoenix with Renee?"

Her eyes widened and then narrowed. Not only did he know who she was, but he also had been keeping some sort of track of her. "I haven't lived with Renee in more than six months."

"W-what?" He seemed genuinely shocked. "Did something happen to Renee?"

"She's fine, but I've been with my father in Washington State since January. You seem pretty knowledgeable about me considering you were just denying that your brother and his wife were my birth parents."

"I never denied knowing them. I simply said that some things are better left unknown. Take my advice, Bella, and forget what you've learned," John replied and hung up without waiting for Bella to respond.

John Gilbert may not have given her any real information, but he had slipped by mentioning Renee. There was no reason for him to know Renee unless it was in relation somehow to the two of them. This confirmed that the Gilberts had to have been her birth parents. It wasn't much, but Bella would take every victory she could. She had no intention of ignoring anything. She had always been stubborn, so there was no reason to stop now.

* * *

For next time: Jasper arrives in Mystic Falls. I'm not sure what else yet. Maybe a trip to Slater? Another interaction with Damon since we know he was spying on her in this chapter. Maybe she meets Elena? I doubt that, but Elena is likely to find out that there is someone in Mystic Falls that looks just like her thanks to Matt.


	3. Chapter 3

Plot Summary: Newton's Third Law states that for each action, there is an equal and opposite reaction. When Bella Swan survives James's attack, she thought things would go back to normal. Instead, the attack sets off a series of events that will not only changes everything but also uncovers a long kept family secret.

Pairings: End pairings undecided. Some Edward/Bella, Stefan/Elena, Bella/Damon, and other canon pairings for both _Twilight_ and _The Vampire Diaries_.

Warnings: This is AU for both _Twilight_ and _The Vampire Diaries._ It begins after the events in _Twilight_ and before the beginning of Season One in _The Vampire Diaries,_ but some events in canon may be altered due to Bella's presence.

Disclaimer: I own nothing.

Author's Note: I took some liberties with the area where the falls are located because I couldn't find out much about them from watching the show and looking at guides.

Chapter Three

Bella did not sleep well after her phone call with John Gilbert. She had always been a vivid dreamer, but the dreams she had last night had felt so real. It started off with her meeting Damon Salvatore at the Mystic Grill the day before, but it had diverged after the meeting because instead of her going out to her car alone, Damon Salvatore had followed her. Once outside, he had pushed her against the side of the building and kissed her so roughly and soundly that she almost imagined she would feel her bruised lips when she woke up.

From there, the dream had dissolved into a territory that was not unfamiliar to Bella in the sense that she often had erotic dreams, but they tended to star her boyfriend and not strange men, and they never felt as vivid as this dream had felt. She was also surprised when dream-Damon had trailed kisses down her throat to her pulse point where he bit down, his sharp teeth easily sinking into her skin and allowing him to drink deeply from her. Bella had never dreamed of Edward biting her or drinking from her. For some reason, the only connotation of the actual act of a vampire bite she had was when James bit her. The only thing she had experienced then was terror and pain, but instead of scaring dream-Bella or hurting dream-Bella, Damon biting her triggered an orgasm so earth shattering that Bella woke up still feeling the effects of it, the strange man's name on her lips.

When her breathing had returned to normal, she lay limply against her pillows for a moment before her hand flew up to her neck. She scrambled off of her bed to peer into the mirror over the nightstand. She brushed her hair over her shoulder to examine the side of her neck. There was absolutely no mark though. Her lips did not look bruised either. She went into the bathroom to throw some cold water on her face.

"It was just a dream," she muttered to herself. "Just a dream."

The sky was still dark when she returned to her bedroom. It was still early, so she decided to try to get more sleep. She was about to climb into her bed when she caught something or someone moving on her balcony from the corner of her eye. Frowning, she walked across the room and peered out the balcony door. There was nothing or no one on the balcony. She shook her head. She was just imagining things.

She tried to go back to sleep afterward, but sleep wouldn't come. She just tossed and turned for a while until she finally gave up on getting more sleep. Instead, she made a latte with the espresso machine she found in the kitchen and went back upstairs to watch the sunrise on her balcony. She was relieved to see that although a layer of gray, stormy clouds was covering the sky they did not encumber Bella from watching the sunrise.

It was the start of a new day, and she had no idea what awaited her. On one hand, it terrified her, but on another, it thrilled her. John Gilbert's little slip the night before was all of the confirmation she needed that Grayson and Miranda Gilbert were her birth parents. They might be dead, but she did have a twin sister and a younger brother. She had never had a sibling before although she had always wanted one. The closest she had ever gotten to having siblings were the Cullens. She definitely considered Alice her sister and Emmett her annoyingly irritating older brother, but the others she wasn't sure about. She was not close to Rosalie at all, and she did not have enough of a relationship with Jasper to put a label on it though she was sure that would change soon as he was due to arrive in an hour or two.

Bella took a long shower and pulled on one of the outfits Alice had bought, a pair of skinny jeans with a blue flowing lace camisole top. Since she wasn't sure if she was going to meet her birth family today, she wanted to at least make sure she looked okay. She pulled her hair back in this twist and tuck up do that managed to keep most of her hair contained with a few errant curls hanging down around her face. She was eating a bagel covered in Nutella when Jasper got there.

"Thanks for coming," she told him as she ushered him inside the house.

He left his suitcase by the door and followed Bella into the sunroom where she had been eating breakfast. He sat across the small table from her while she finished her meal.

Used to his usually strained expression when she was near, she was surprised to find it absent. If the look on his face and the wave of curiosity she felt brush against her were any indication, then she wasn't the only one that was surprised. His nose flared momentarily before he leaned into her and surreptitiously sniffed. When he finally looked at her face, his eyes were narrowed.

"Your scent is different," he said in an accusatory tone.

Bella scoffed and gave her vampire friend an exasperated look. "I don't know what you're talking about."

Now it was Jasper who scoffed. "Really, Bella? Do you really think you're a good enough liar to lie to an empath?"

No, she didn't think that, but she didn't know what to tell him anyway, so she deflected. How had she managed to keep it from the Cullens for the last few months only to get confronted with it now?

"Oh? And what do you think I smell like? Edward says freesia, but perhaps humans smell different to each vampire..."

"You don't smell human, though, Bella. You _almost_ smell like one of us, but there is a lingering smell of freesia around you."

His eyes were still narrowed as he studied her. When his eyes landed on her crescent moon scar, they widened. In a flash, he reached out and grabbed her hand. "Has Edward seen this?" he asked her.

Bella shrugged. "I don't know," she answered truthfully. She had been trying to keep it hidden, but since he hadn't initiated so much as a hug in weeks, it hadn't been difficult.

She sighed at Jasper's continual perusal of her. "What?" she finally asked, annoyance leaking into her voice.

"It's not just your smell, is it? _You_ are different."

She rolled her eyes. "I'm not," she persisted. "I'm the same as I've always been."

His eyes lit up in victory. "Care to explain then how you were able to hear me when I was just talking in a decibel too low for human ears to hear?"

Admitting defeat, Bella quickly told Jasper what had been happening since Phoenix. When she was finished, Jasper pursed his lips. "I've never heard of anything like this, but I'll put some feelers out. I'm guessing there's a reason you haven't informed anyone else of these changes?"

Bella shrugged. "What was I supposed to say? I did broach the subject with Carlisle, but he seemed convinced no one had ever survived a bite before, so there was no information to be found. I didn't say anything to Edward for obvious reasons. He has a tendency to overreact."

Jasper snorted. "Indeed."

Bella cleaned up her mess from breakfast and spent some time sketching while Jasper went out to hunt. Sketching was a hobby she had taken up one summer when Renee had forced her to go to this summer camp for creative arts. After trying and failing at pottery, sculpting, and painting to some extent, she fell in love with sketching. She wasn't a prodigy by any means, but she did well enough to suit her.

She had sketched the strange crow from the other night and was in the process of sketching Damon Salvatore's face when Jasper returned from hunting.

"Let me clean up, and then we'll head into town," he told her.

They started at the local cemetery. They wandered around for a few minutes. Bella wasn't quite sure what she was looking for—Katherine Piece? The Salvatore's? Maybe the Gilberts? There was no trace of a grave for Katherine, but she did eventually find the Gilbert family graves. She looked at the older Gilbert graves, Johnathan Gilbert, and made her way until she stood at the graves of Grayson and Miranda Gilbert. She couldn't believe that even though she had discovered her birth parents, she would never have a chance to get to know them since they had died in the beginning of May.

Jasper put a reassuring hand on her shoulder, and the tension she wasn't even aware of dissipated. She gave him a wobbly smile.

"Thanks."

He nodded and went back to walking through the graves. She pulled a piece of the paper and the stick of charcoal out of her messenger bag she had brought in case they found the graves and quickly did an etching of the Gilbert's gravestone. When she was done, she tucked the etching and the charcoal back into her bag and joined Jasper in front of the Salvatore family graves. Bella was surprised to find a grave for Damon Salvatore. His death date was in 1864 just like Jasper had told her previously. She wondered if this Damon Salvatore was the same one she had met, the one that seemed to be haunting her dreams. She did an etching of his grave as well as the one next to his, his brother's if Jasper's information could be trusted.

"What next?" Jasper asked as they left the cemetery and walked back to Bella's car.

She sighed and chewed on her lower lip indecisively. "I don't know. I talked to John Gilbert last night, and he knows more than he'll tell me. I'm almost positive that the Gilberts are my birth parents, which would make Elena Gilbert my twin sister and Jeremy Gilbert my brother."

"Hmmm. Then, our next move should be to meet them," he started, but at Bella's horrified look, he continued, "or not."

There were a multitude of questions swirling through Bella's mind, but the most pressing one was the one that hurt the most. "What if they don't want me?" she finally asked, her voice sounded small and hurt even to her ears.

Jasper sent a wave of acceptance Bella's way. "And what if they _do_ want you? You can't live your life on 'what if's.' You came here to find your family, and now you have. You owe it to yourself to see this through."

"Maybe," she said doubtfully. The chime indicating she had received a new text sounded from her cell phone.

Jasper flashed Bella a grin. "If you still aren't convinced, read the text message that Alice just sent you."

Grumbling about psychic vampires, Bella dug her phone out of her messenger bag. Sure enough, Alice had sent her a text message. It was just one line, but it said all it needed to say:

 _Take a chance_.

They were right. She might not have been searching for information about her birth family for years, like some people did, but she had still put time and effort into the search causing her relationship with both Renee and Edward to suffer. She had left everything she knew and was now staying in a new town full of strangers. All of this for the opportunity to meet her family, and now that she had a chance, she was balking? She was being ridiculous.

"You're right," she said with a new determination in her voice. "Now all I need to do is find out where they live."

Jasper gave her a smug look and pulled a piece of paper from his jean pocket. "No need. I have it right here."

Bella's brow furrowed before she groaned. "Alice."

The blonde vampire nodded. "Of course. Did you doubt her?"

She shook her head. "No, I never bet against Alice. Well, then, I suppose we should go."

The trip to the Gilbert house was short thanks to Mystic Falls being a small town. Bella knew that if it weren't for Jasper's presence, she would have been a bundle of nerves by the time she pulled in front of the house. It was a nice looking two-story house sitting on a well-manicured lawn. Jasper followed Bella as she made her way up the walkway to the front door. She paused momentarily before knocking. Her hand was still trembling even with Jasper's influence.

After the longest minute in Bella's young life, a tall woman with strawberry blonde curls answered the door. Her eyes widened when she saw Bella.

"Shit," she said. "You must be Isobel."

Bella exchanged a look with Jasper before turning back to the woman. "I am. This is my friend, Jasper. You know who I am, then?"

"I—yes, I do. Would you like to come inside? I'm the only one here at the moment, but I'm guessing that's a good thing, for now."

"Sure," Bella said before entering the house with Jasper quickly behind her.

The woman led them to a comfortable looking living room and motioned for them to take a seat. They did so and waited for the woman to speak.

"I'm Jenna. Miranda was my older sister. I was only a kid when she decided to adopt Elena. She wanted to keep both of you, but for some reason, the birth mother insisted on the separation. "

Bella reared back as if slapped. "Birth mother? I thought that Miranda _was_ my birth mother."

Jenna gave her a sad smile. "No, I'm afraid not."

"Oh—that's...oh."

She had come all the way to Virginia to find her birth parents. She had been sad to find out that Grayson and Miranda were dead, but there was a certain amount of comfort knowing for certain who her parents were. She thought that by coming to the Gilbert's house that she was finally going to get answers only to be sent back to the beginning.

"Do you know anything about her? My birth mother, I mean."

"I do," she admitted. "Not much, though. Her name was Isobel. She was a teenager who showed up at my brother-in-law's office about to give birth. He's a doctor, so he delivered the two of you and gave the girl a place to stay. She stayed long enough to heal after the birth before disappearing, leaving behind a letter. In the letter, she requested that the oldest twin, you, be named Isobel Katerina and that the twins be split up for their own safety, each going to a founding family. Grayson and Miranda took Elena, and you went to the Swans."

Bella frowned. "But that doesn't make any sense. Charlie was definitely not from here. He was born and raised in Forks, Washington." She paused. "My mom, Renee, never talked about her family. I'm guessing that makes her a member of a founding family, then."

Jenna nodded. "Yeah. She was a Fell before she married Charlie. I dated her younger brother when I was in high school, but she was long gone by then."

Bella supposed she should not have been surprised to discover her parents were lying to her about other things. What was one more lie compared to the growing list?

"Thanks, Jenna. Really. I'm sorry about just showing up unannounced and practically interrogating you. I was just so sure your sister and her husband were my birth parents."

"Hey, it's really no problem. I'm happy to help you any way I can. I think I have Grayson's office records boxed up somewhere. I'll see if I can get you a last name at least. You might not have been their child, but Elena is your twin sister, which makes you my niece, too, in a really roundabout way."

Bella smiled a genuine smile. Charlie and Renee were both only children whose parents had all died before she was born—as far as she had known—which meant that Bella had grown up without any extended family at all. "Thanks, Jenna. It really means a lot to me. I've never had an aunt before."

"Look, I have an appointment with my adviser soon, but you two should come to dinner tonight. Does 7 pm work for you? I'll introduce you to Elena and Jeremy," the blonde woman said, standing.

Both Bella and Jasper stood as well. "7 pm sounds great! We'll see you then."

The drive back to the house was relatively quiet. Bella was trying to digest all of the information she had just learned. Grayson and Miranda were not her birth parents. Renee was a member of a founding family of Mystic Falls—not that Bella had any real understanding of what that meant—and she had a new family member in the form of a quasi-aunt. She would also meet her twin sister in a number of hours.

"You okay?" Jasper asked her as they walked into the house.

Bella lifted one eyebrow archly. "Don't you already know?"

"Generally, yes, but you are a jumble of emotions today. Disappointment, anger, betrayal, hope, curiosity...it's enough to make an empath get whip lash."

She sighed. "Truth is, Jasper. I don't know what I'm feeling. I'm disappointed that the Gilbert's aren't my birth parents. I'm angry that Charlie and Renee have been keeping more from me than the fact that I'm adopted. The hope and the curiosity, I suppose, is for the possibility of being part of a family with the remaining Gilberts. With the exception of John Gilbert, that is. I'm still not sure what to make of him. He never really said that they were my birth parents. I just made the assumption that they were."

"Bella," Jasper started. "This is only your second full day here. You have time to figure everything out. It's not a race."

"You're right."

Jasper's lips curled into a smirk. "I usually am. Now, I happen to know that Alice made sure this house was fully stocked with plenty of those BBC miniseries that you love so much. How about you make some lunch, and we spend the afternoon watching one of them?"

Bella nodded and headed off to the kitchen to do just that. She paused at the doorway and turned back to the blonde vampire. "Thanks, Jazz, for coming. You didn't have to, and I really appreciate it."

"Don't you remember what I told you in Phoenix? You're worth it."

The rest of the afternoon went smoothly. Bella lost herself in _Pride and Prejudice_ and the eye candy Colin Firth provided. Edward had called her a time or two, but Bella didn't answer any of his phone calls. She was still angry with him, and she didn't want to hear anything unsupportive before her meeting with Elena and Jeremy.

While Bella was nervous for the upcoming meeting, it was Jasper who really appeared to be nervous. After watching him read the same page in some large book that he had brought with him for five minutes, she put him out of his misery.

"Why don't you stay here tonight instead of going with me? I can make an excuse for you. I know that eating is uncomfortable." She left unsaid that being around humans was also uncomfortable.

Jasper looked unsure, but Bella could feel the wave of relief he emanated. "If you're sure..."

"I am, really. If you want to make it up to me, you could call Jenks and see if he could search for all teenage girls named Isobel who lived in this area 17 years ago. Jenna might not have any more information on her than her first name, but perhaps Jenks can give at least get us a list of possible women to start with."

"I'm one step ahead of you. I texted him while you were mooning over Mr. Darcy. He'll let me know when he's found something."

"Thanks," Bella told him.

She hesitated briefly before throwing her arms around him in an impromptu hug. He stood frozen for a moment before slowly putting his arms around hers as well if only for a moment. When he pulled away, Bella went upstairs to freshen up. She touched up her hair and decided put on some mascara and lip-gloss.

She had never cared much about her appearance in the past, but she found herself wanting to make a change. Maybe she was tired of being frumpy Isabella Swan with her flannel shirts and jeans. It was no wonder people looked so surprised when they found out she was with Edward. The disparity between their appearances was startling, and not all of it had to do with the fact that being a vampire made him supernaturally attractive. Instead, Bella was beginning to realize that Edward was right when he said she didn't see herself very clearly. Her self-esteem was so low; it was surprising that she had any at all.

At 6:45, Bella said goodbye to Jasper and made the short drive to the Gilbert's house. She parked in the same place she had done so before, noticing another car parked near that had not been there that morning. She took a couple of deep breaths in an attempt to sooth her nerves before exiting the car. It worked, somewhat, but not completely.

For the second time that day, she knocked on the door, and for the second time that day, Jenna answered. She looked a little more careworn than she had that morning, but she greeted Bella with a smile and welcomed her in once more.

"I hope you don't mind take out," Jenna said. "The only thing I can cook is toast, and even that is pretty dicey."

Bella gave her a smile. "That's fine."

"They're waiting in the living room. Come on. You guys can talk while I get everything set out."

Bella followed behind Jenna into the living room where she came face to face with Elena and Jeremy. Elena was pacing back and forth in front of the couch while Jeremy was sitting on the couch looking sullen and bored. They both looked at her when she entered the room.

"Holy shit," Jeremy breathed. "It's true."

Bella fidgeted under their gazes and chewed on her lower lip. What were you supposed to say in this sort of situation? Luckily, she was saved from speaking by Elena. At Jeremy's quiet proclamation, she had shot him a quelling look before turning back to Bella. She looked hesitant at first, but she seemed to steel herself and walked to where Bella was lurking in the entrance of the living room. She took one of Bella's hands and pulled her to the couch where Bella sat down awkwardly.

"You'll have to excuse Jeremy; he has no brain-to-mouth filter. I'm Elena, but I suppose you already know that."

She nodded. "Ah, yes. I did. I'm Isobel or Bella. I've always gone by Bella. I only just found out my actual name was Isobel and not Isabella when I found out..." she trailed off, not knowing if she should mention the adoption.

Elena seemed to get what she was leaving unsaid because she scowled. "Found out that you were adopted, and everyone in your family had been lying to you?"

"Something like that."

After that, the three teenagers sat in an uncomfortable silence until Jenna called them into the dining room. The same uncomfortable silence followed them to dinner. Jeremy shoved his helping of Fettuccini Alfredo into his mouth. When he was done, he left, muttering something about meeting up with his friends.

Jenna tried to make conversation with both Bella and Elena, but Elena was obviously angry with Jenna for something, likely keeping the adoption secret, if her earlier comment was any indication, so it often fell flat.

"So, how long are you in town for?" Jenna asked.

Bella shrugged. "I don't know. I don't have a real timeline in place. My dad will probably expect me home in a week or two, I guess."

Jenna looked concerned. "Wait, your dad just let you come out here alone?"

"Um, well, it did take some convincing, but when they did the adoption, they changed my birthday, so legally I'm going to be 18 in a few months. Plus, I've always been the responsible one in the family. I'm not alone, though. Jasper is with me. He's my boyfriend's brother."

At the mention of a boyfriend, the conversation shifted to discussing their relationships. Jenna told Bella about her failed relationship with Renee's younger brother, Logan Fell, who was a reporter for the Mystic Falls news station. The only thing that Elena shared, on the other hand, was that she had only just recently broken up with her boyfriend. Bella didn't pry into it as it seemed to still be a touchy subject.

"So, what about you, Bella? You said Jasper is your boyfriend's brother? Is your boyfriend as hot as he is because he is ridiculously hot?" Jenna asked.

Bella hesitated. "I think he is hotter than Jasper, but then again, I'm biased. We've only been dating for a few months."

Jenna gave her a knowing look. "But?" she prompted when Bella fell silent.

She sighed. "Things aren't going well," she paused. How could she describe the issues plaguing her human/vampire relationship with someone who didn't know vampires even existed? "All we've done lately is fight, mostly about me wanting to know my biological family, but it's brought out some bigger problems."

Bella didn't say what those bigger problems were because as she had tried to define them in ways she could actually share, she began to see how disturbing the problems actually were. She knew that if she told Jenna and Elena how he had been acted, they would think he was being abusive to her or at the very least that he was exhibiting red flags for abuse.

That is when it dawned on her. Edward _was_ controlling. He thought he had a right to dictate her actions, and when she didn't comply, he was angry with her. She had known that, of course she had, but she had excused away his behavior as a side effect of his vampirism. She just assumed that with the disparity in species was to blame and that this would change once she became a vampire.

The justifications sounded weak to her now. _He'll change_ was something she knew that abuse victims always thought. She remembers Renee talking to her about domestic abuse and bringing her home pamphlets about it after she discovered one of her friends were being abused. How could she not have put it together until now? Even if Bella became a vampire, he wouldn't change. He would still want to be controlling. Maybe it was part of his Edwardian upbringing or maybe it was a part of his personality, but whatever the reason was, it wasn't likely to change.

Wanting to divert attention off of her after her little epiphany, Bella asked Jenna about her schoolwork, which then led them into a conversation about her thesis that lasted through the rest of dinner. Bella had hoped to be able to get to know Elena a little more after dinner, but Elena had ducked out, to head to her friend Bonnie's house no sooner than the last plate was clean.

When Jenna noticed the frown on Bella's face, she gave her a reassuring smile. "It's not you, Bella. She's mad at me for keeping the adoption from her, and she's still dealing with my sister and her husband's death. We all are. She'll come around, you'll see."

"I understand. It's a lot to take in. I should go. Thanks for dinner. I had fun."

Her words sounded almost mechanical and empty, but thankfully Jenna didn't call her out on it. "Here, take my number, and I'll take yours. That way you can get in contact with me if you want, and Elena will have a way to get into contact with you."

Bella took the post-it note Jenna offered and scribbled her cell-phone number down on it before exchanging it for the post-it note with Jenna's phone number. She said goodbye and headed home.

Jasper was watching a documentary on the history channel in the living room when she walked in. He took one look at her face—and no doubt her mood—before frowning.

"That good, huh?" he asked.

"It wasn't too bad," she tried to say. "Elena was upset about finding out that she was adopted. I understand what that's like. I don't know how receptive I would have been if I had had to meet her only hours after finding out."

"Well, that's true. What else is bothering you?"

Bella sighed and stopped next to the couch where he was sitting. "I just realized some things about Edward and our relationship that I hadn't thought about before. I'm going to head up. See you in the morning."

She went straight into the bathroom. It had been a really long day, and all she wanted to do was soak in the Jacuzzi tub in her bathroom. After using Charlie's tiny bathroom for the last six months, she had been incredibly pleased to discover her new—if only temporary—bathroom was roomy. Instead of having a tub/shower combo squished in the corner like she was used to at home, the bathroom here had a Jacuzzi tub was in the middle of the room on a raised platform with two little steps leading up to it. There was a shower across from the tub in between two separate bathroom sinks.

She hadn't bothered using the controls when she had taken a bath the night before, but this time she played around with settings before finding one that she enjoyed. She wasn't sure how long she stayed in there, but she was decidedly more relaxed when she climbed out. She dried herself off before pulling on the red knee-length silk robe she found on the back of the bathroom door. She went downstairs and grabbed a bottle of water from the refrigerator before going back to her bedroom.

She went outside onto the balcony and closed the doors behind her. There were several more missed calls from Edward on her phone, so she knew that she had to call him back, and she wanted at least the illusion of privacy to do so. Jasper could probably still hear, but this was probably the best she would be able to get.

He answered on the second ring. "Bella," he said, relief evident in his voice. "Alice got a vision earlier that she has been extremely tight-lipped about. I thought for sure you had been injured when you didn't answer the phone."

No doubt Alice's vision had something to do with Bella's epiphany earlier. She sighed. "I'm fine, Edward. I was having dinner with my sister and aunt. We need to talk though."

"I know," he said. "I wanted to apologize for yesterday. It was childish for me to refuse to drive you to the airport, and I should not have done that."

"No, you shouldn't have," Bella said, quietly. "It really hurt me, Edward, and it's made me think about our relationship. Putting aside the whole question of my mortality, I don't like the direction things have taken lately. You have become so fixated on protecting me that you've started trying to control me."

"I'm not trying to control you, Bella. I just want you to be safe. You have no idea how much I worry. You're so breakable, so fragile. When I saw you that day in the ballet studio, I thought you were dead, and then only moments later, _I_ nearly drained you dry trying to save your life—"

Bella cut him off. "This is exactly what I'm talking about. I don't doubt that you worry, and I don't doubt that you want me to be safe. But I don't want to be controlled. I don't want to have Alice monitoring my every decision looking for danger; I don't want to have Jasper or Emmett or you trailing me around 'protecting' me."

There was a pause. "What are you trying to say?"

She took a deep breath. "I think that we should take some time apart."

Edward gave a low humorless chuckle. "Just yesterday we were fighting over my refusal to change you, and today you are breaking up with me. Clearly, you are not ready for the commitment an eternity requires. I've never known you to be fickle, love, though it is a common human quality."

Her breath hitched in her throat at his hurtful words, but she swallowed the sob threatening to choke her. "This has nothing to do with me being ready to commit to you for an eternity. You've already made it very clear that _you_ don't want an eternity with _me_. This has to do with me wanting to be treated like an equal in a relationship. I don't want my every decision watched; I don't want to be held back from experiencing things because you're afraid that something will happen to me. I can't live like that, Edward, and I shouldn't have to."

"You think I'm holding you back? That my being protective and caring about your well-being is holding you back?"

"Not holding back exactly. The problem is that you are so worried something will happen to me that you won't let anything happen to me—good or bad. Like coming to Mystic Falls and searching for my family. If you had your way, I would never have looked into my family at all just because there was the possibility of danger. I may not be a century old vampire, but I am capable of making my own decisions. Before I lived with Charlie, I practically ran Renee's entire household. I have always been independent."

"If this is what will make you happy, if this is what you think is best for you, Bella, then I have no choice but to respect your decision," Edward said after a moment.

There was a hint of condescension in his voice, as if he was only patronizing Bella's need to make her own decisions that only served to anger her further. She did not react angrily, though. Instead, she steeled herself and simply replied in the affirmative.

"It is."

"Very well, then. Goodbye Bella," he said and ended the call with a resounding click.

The phone call and ensuing conversation had zapped every ounce of energy that the bath had managed to restore, so Bella left the balcony and readied herself for bed. A part of her was ready to dissolve into tears at the ending of what she had expected to be her forever love, but another part, a larger part, felt a sense of freedom she had not expected. She did feel awkward knowing that she was living in a house and driving a car that his family had provided for her, but she remembered Alice's promise that she was a part of the family no matter what happened with her and Edward's relationship, and it gave her some comfort.

Thankfully, Bella's sleep that night went undisturbed, and she woke up in the morning feeling refreshed and with a new sense of purpose and the bright sun flooding her bedroom through the room's many windows.

She was surprised to find Jasper was waiting for her downstairs with a cup of latte and a stack of chocolate chip pancakes, which she supposed answered her question of whether or not Jasper had heard about her breakup with Edward.

"Thank you," she told him sincerely. "I didn't know you could cook."

He shrugged and ducked his head. Bella had a feeling that if he could, he would be blushing right now. "Alice said something about comfort food. There are also several different pints of ice cream in the freezer along with the alcohol she insisted you might want if those are more to your liking."

Bella laughed despite herself as she imagined Alice instructing Jasper to buy the items she deemed necessary for breakup recovery, items she no doubt took from the multitude of movies she had seen over the years.

"Just the pancakes will do for now. It's a bit early for alcohol."

Jasper nodded. "She also told me that the sun will be out for the entirety of the day but that you shouldn't let my being trapped inside stop you for going out."

Alice's earlier words of, "take a chance," echoed through her head. She may not want to dictate her actions based on any supposed danger contained in Alice's visions, but she couldn't argue their usefulness on certain occasions.

"I won't. I haven't had an opportunity to do much exploring around the town. We're playing the waiting game right now for the most part. I am interested in going to see your friend Slater to see what he can tell us about Katherine, but that can wait. I think I'll look online after breakfast to see if there are any touristy type things to do in Mystic Falls."

She hadn't really expected to find any touristy things to do in Mystic Falls, so she wasn't disappointed when she only found some links describing the waterfalls in the area. She had never been much of a nature lover or an outdoor enthusiast, but the idea of seeing and perhaps sketching a real life waterfall was intriguing. At the very least, it sounded peaceful.

She got dressed in a pair of shorts and a spaghetti-strapped tank top, braided her long hair in a side braid, and packed her sketchbook, some snacks, and bottled water into her messenger bag before leaving the house. She drove to the parking lot near the public friendly trails to the falls with the top down on her car and the music blaring. It was such a nice day that she was surprised to find her car the only one in the parking lot, but she didn't think about it much.

The hike itself to the falls shouldn't have taken Bella very long to make, but she had stumbled along the way several times and had stopped to rest once or twice. When she finally did get to the waterfall, her face was flushed with heat, the curls around her face had escaped her braid, and she had skinned one of her knees and one of her elbows. All of it was worth it, though, when her eyes landed on the waterfall.

She sat down on a fallen tree trunk and just looked at the waterfall for a while, the rush of the falling water lulling her into a relaxed state. She went to text Jasper and let him know she had arrived at the falls as she had promised to do—she wasn't against people worrying about her safety, only those who acted ridiculously when doing so—only to realize she had left her phone behind in her car. She shrugged it off and watched the waterfall for a few more minutes before pulling out her sketchbook.

Her sketch was half finished when she heard a voice behind her right over her shoulder.

"You're very talented."

Surprised, Bella jerked away from the sound of the voice, dropping her sketchpad and nearly falling off of the trunk in the process. Her heart was pounding when she turned to find Damon Salvatore standing behind where she had been sitting, her mind immediately going back to the dream she had had with him drinking her blood.

"I didn't mean to startle you," he apologized. "I thought you would have heard me approaching."

She hadn't heard him approaching even with her more pronounced sense of hearing. His ability to sneak up on her gave credibility to her suspicions of him being a magical vampire or not being a human at the very least.

She swallowed reflexively and took several steps back, away from Damon. "It's okay. No big deal."

He didn't reply, which gave her an opportunity to study him. Unlike her, he neither appeared to be fazed at all by the hike he would have had to take to get to the waterfall nor did he seem to be dressed appropriately for a hike into the woods. He was wearing black pants and a black shirt with a black leather jacket on despite the heat of the day. His hair was artfully tousled in such a way that suggested it had been styled and not arrived in its messy state because of the hike. His appearance reminded her of how Edward had looked after their first trip to the meadow.

She was not alone in her study as Damon was once again looking at her intently. She was the first to look away. She bent over to pick up her sketchbook and to grab her messenger bag where it was sitting on the ground. In the seconds it had taken her to retrieve her belongings, he had moved in front of her.

Holding the sketchbook against her chest like a shield, she tried to side step him and make her way back to her car only for a pale hand to reach out and take ahold of her arm effectively stopping from leaving.

"You weren't leaving, were you?" he asked, his head cocked to the side.

His words were conversational, and there was a friendly look on his face, but Bella could hear the steel and danger beneath the surface of him.

She tried to calm her wildly beating heart by taking a deep breath, bracing herself with confidence she didn't quite feel. "I was—I am," she replied and attempted to leave once more, but his grip was unyielding.

"Let me rephrase that: you aren't leaving," he told her when her wide, frightened eyes met his.

* * *

For next time: The rest of her encounter with Damon.


	4. Chapter 4

Plot Summary: Newton's Third Law states that for each action, there is an equal and opposite reaction. When Bella Swan survives James's attack, she thought things would go back to normal. Instead, the attack sets off a series of events that will not only changes everything but also uncovers a long kept family secret.

Pairings: End pairings undecided. Some Edward/Bella, Stefan/Elena, Bella/Damon, and other canon pairings for both _Twilight_ and _The Vampire Diaries_.

Warnings: This is AU for both _Twilight_ and _The Vampire Diaries._ It begins after the events in _Twilight_ and before the beginning of Season One in _The Vampire Diaries,_ but some events in canon may be altered due to Bella's presence.

Disclaimer: I own nothing.

Author's Note: I apologize for the long wait, but I had a big exam on Friday that I had to prepare for. Also, I wanted this to be longer, but it felt right to end it here.

Chapter Four

When Damon's words registered in Bella's mind, a surge of energy went through her replacing her fear with white-hot anger. She was tired of people telling her what to do. She narrowed her eyes at the man—or better yet vampire—in front of her.

"I don't think so. Get your hands off of me," she bit off.

He did not let her go, though. If anything, his grip on her arm tightened and a confused look flitted across his face before a stormy expression settled there.

"You don't think so?" his voice was soft, but there was an edge beneath it. The same danger she had picked up on only moments ago.

She took a deep breath. While she was angry at his manhandling because she was likely to be bruised as well as his attempt at ordering her around because she was tired of vampires ordering her around, she didn't want to make what appeared to be a volatile vampire even angrier.

She tried to think of a way to get away from this situation but found nothing. "Why don't you want me to leave?" she asked instead.

This seemed to bring him up short. The hand that wasn't holding onto her arm reached out and trailed one finger down her face and across her lips. "You look just like her. How can you look so much like her?"

She knew then exactly what he meant. Jasper's research had told him that Damon Salvatore and his brother had both been involved with Katherine Pierce, whom she just happened to be identical to.

"Um, we're not sure why I look like Katherine—"

Bella didn't get to finish her sentence because the moment she said the word Katherine, Damon became enraged. Red bled through his eyes, and the veins around his eyes became protruding. Then he grabbed her by both arms and shook her.

"How do you know about Katherine?"

She was vaguely aware that she was beginning to have a panic attack. Thinking someone was a vampire and seeing the proof was different especially when so much rage seemed to be directed at her.

"I—I..." she stuttered, but she couldn't finish the sentence.

When she stopped speaking, he shook her harder. "Tell me!" he roared.

Her head was aching from the force of him shaking her. She felt like her brain and her teeth were rattling in her head.

"I have a friend," she gasped. "Jasper—he's a vampire. He knew her—met her in the 1870's when he was fighting in the Southern territory wars."

At this, he became completely still. His features went back to normal, and he shook his head in disbelief. "You're lying. Katherine has been in the tomb beneath Fell's Church since 1864."

She cried out when his grip on her arm tightened once again, "I'm not lying. I can prove it. I've got pictures of her in my bag."

He searched her face for a moment before he let her go and nodded to where her bag had fallen to the ground once more. "Get them."

She ignored her aching head and arms as well as her shaking legs and scrambled to her bag. She pulled out the envelope labeled 'Katherine Pierce' and handed it to the vampire before she sank to the ground, her legs no longer able to hold her. She watched as he looked through the pictures in the envelope and then read the letter Jasper had included.

When Damon was finished going through its contents, he dropped the envelope on the ground, the pictures inside scattering as they fell. He let out a strangled noise and grabbed the fallen tree trunk Bella had been sitting on earlier and tossed it into another tree uprooting that tree in the process and causing both trees fell to the ground loudly. He stalked back and forth through the trees ranting as he did so.

Bella wasn't listening though. She pulled her legs up to her chest and hugged them, burying her face into her lap. She knew that she should leave, that she should make her way back to her car, but she couldn't find it in herself to move at the moment. For all her bravado to Edward about being able to take care of her self, she was doing a terrible job of it.

She raised her head off of her knees when everything grew silent. The area near the waterfall was in disarray, but Damon had either worn himself out or worked through his rage because he was now picking up all of the fallen pictures of Katherine off of the ground. He no longer looked angry. Instead, he looked heartbroken, and Bella could see the tears glistening in his eyes. Something about his pain resonated within her.

Carefully, she stood up and walked over to where he was standing. She wanted to touch him, to comfort him somehow, but after earlier, she was definitely wary of him. Still, she didn't run away from him like she probably should have. Her sense of self-preservation was obviously faulty.

"I'm sorry," she told him, needing to say but not knowing what else to say.

Damon scoffed and turned to look at her, taking something in her disheveled appearance and rapidly bruising arms. " _You're_ sorry. I'm the one who stalked you, attempted to compel you, and attacked you, and you're apologizing to me."

"Yeah, you did those things," she agreed. "But I am sorry. Katherine obviously meant a lot to you, and I can see why you'd be angry, especially if you spent the last 140-something years thinking she was trapped in the tomb when she wasn't."

Damon cocked his head to the side and studied her face, searching for something—perhaps for traces of dishonesty, she wasn't sure—for a moment before finally sighing. "Look, I don't typically apologize, it's not really my thing, but I shouldn't have put my hands on you."

It wasn't quite an apology, but it was probably the closest she was going to get. "Apology accepted. I might be able to get you more information about Katherine if you're interested. My friend said that when he met her in the 1870's, she was looking for help—"

Realization came over Damon's features, and he cut her off. "She faked her death. She wanted everyone to think she was in that tomb. Why would she do that?"

Bella shrugged. "I don't know. Jasper never told me what she wanted help with only that she only cared for herself. If you want, you could ask him. He's staying with me while I'm in town."

Damon's expression was bleak. "Why not? What do I have left to lose?"

The two made the hike back through the woods to Bella's car and then the drive back to the house. Damon didn't say a word, but several times Bella could feel the weight of his eyes on her. She never caught him looking at her, but she had felt him doing so. He followed her up to the door, but instead of following her into the house, he lingered on the doorstep.

"You'll need to invite me in," Damon told her, sounding more than a little unwilling to divulge the information.

Bella was surprised and a little amused to discover at least one stereotype about vampires was true. "Please come in."

Jasper was waiting on them when they walked through the door. He eyed Damon suspiciously unconsciously sending out waves of distrust and suspicion that rapidly turned to anger when he noticed Bella's appearance. For his part, Damon was studying Jasper in return, his eyes taking in the layers of bite marks that could be seen on Jasper's exposed arms and neck.

It took only seconds for Jasper to place himself between Bella and Damon and to take an offensive position. "Did he hurt you, Bella?" Jasper asked her, his voice deceptively calm.

"Well, yes," she said and then hurriedly continued before Jasper acted on the anger she could feel building in the room, "but it was a misunderstanding. I'm fine."

Although Jasper had always seemed dangerous to Bella, and he certainly seemed dangerous to Bella now, Damon did not seem concerned in the least. If anything, he looked amused. The two vampires continued to stare at one another while Bella stood awkwardly behind Jasper. She finally made a disgruntled noise, tired of the ridiculous posturing, and pushed her way past Jasper.

"Damon, this is my friend Jasper Whitlock. Jasper, this is Damon Salvatore. We were hoping you might tell him what you know about Katherine. He was under the impression that Katherine had been beneath some tomb here since 1864."

Jasper's stance relaxed, and the atmosphere relaxed infinitesimally as he ended his waves of suspicion and distrust. "Damon Salvatore," he said, almost as if to taste the name on his tongue. "Your reputation precedes you."

"As does yours," Damon said.

Bella looked back and forth at the two vampires standing in the entryway. "Why don't you two go sit down in the living room while I try to make myself look somewhat decent?"

Jasper studied her for a moment before nodding. "That sounds fine," he said, his country drawl more apparent than usual. "I'll show Mr. Salvatore to the living room."

Bella threw a last look at Damon before heading up the stairs to her bathroom. She washed her face and tried to straighten up her hair. When she looked down at where the dark bruises ought to be, she was surprised to see they were not the deep purple she expected but instead were the pale greenish-yellow of a healing bruise.

"Weird," she muttered to herself before shaking her head. It was likely just another side effect of the venom in her body, so she filed it away and vowed to talk to Jasper about it later.

She had never tried purposely to utilize the new abilities she seemed to have, but as she went back to join Jasper and Damon, she tried to move as quietly and as quickly as possible. She was frustrated to find out that it didn't worked, and she descended the staircase at her normal speed, coming to stop outside of the living room where she could hear the two vampires talking.

"—Klaus? Who is he, and why would he want her?" Damon was asking.

Jasper sighed. "I'm not sure. I'm not as familiar with your kind of vampires, but I know that as soon as Maria heard the name Klaus, she refused to help her and practically ran her out of the camp. She didn't look afraid, but you can't lie to an empath. She was terrified. Maria wasn't one to back down from a fight, so if she was afraid, then he's likely extremely dangerous. Not to mention how frightened Katherine was. She tried to hide it, but...like I said before, you can't hide your feelings from an empath."

Silence fell over the two, so Bella chose that moment to enter the living room, her mind reeling from the information she had overheard. "Do you think your contact in Richmond—Slater—would know?" she asked. "Maybe this Klaus person is important. If he's after Katherine, maybe that's why my birth parents went to such extremes to hide me away. Maybe they were worried I would be mistaken for Katherine since we look so much alike?" It was a long shot, but Bella was desperate to know anything about her past. She wanted to know why she looked so much like Katherine and why her parents had given her up with such strange instructions.

"I'm not sure," Jasper said after a moment. "I never asked Slater about Klaus. I suppose he might know." He turned back to Damon. "That's all the information I have on Katherine. If you want my opinion, I would say you dodged a bullet. Like I told Bella, from what I observed, she is the most selfish being I've ever come across."

Damon's expression was inscrutable. When he finally replied, his voice was low. "Yes. Yes, she is." He stood up. "I should go now, but thanks for the information."

A frown came unbidden to Bella's face at the thought of Damon leaving. "Oh, well, I'll walk you out then."

Jasper watched Bella as she lead Damon out of the room; his brow furrowed no doubt as he accessed her feelings of disappointment. Living with an empath did have its drawbacks.

Bella followed Damon outside. She groaned as her eyes landed on her car. "I completely forgot that you road with me. Do you need me to take you back to your car?"

Damon grinned. "I can get back on my own much faster than you could drive me." At Bella's confused look, he continued. "Vampire, remember?"

"Oh, yeah. I'm not used to there being a whole other breed of vampire. What makes your type different than Jasper's besides the face-thing and people having to invite you inside? How come you don't sparkle in the sun? Jasper has had to stay inside because of the weather," Bella asked him rapid fire, her curiosity getting the best of her.

He didn't respond at first, but then he walked over to one of the rocking chairs that were on the front porch and sat down. He indicated she should sit as well when she didn't follow his lead.

"I can't give away all of our trade secrets, but I suppose I could tell you a few. For a price."

Bella's eyes narrowed. "What sort of price?"

"You have dinner with me. Tonight."

"Are you asking me on a date?" she asked him.

Damon arched an elegant brow. "Is that a yes?"

"You can't answer a question with another question!" Bella said with a huff.

He didn't reply merely continued to stare at her with an infuriatingly smug look on his face.

"Fine, yes, I'll go to dinner with you, but it's not a date. How can you even eat?"

He shrugged. "So long as I keep up a healthy diet of blood, my body functions pretty normally."

"Huh. What else is different?"

Damon grabbed her hand and pressed it against his chest where Bella could feel the faint beating of a heart. "There's the heartbeat, for one, and for another, unlike those sparklers, we burn in the sun—"

"But you were out in the sun today!" Bella exclaimed, cutting him off. "Why didn't you burn?"

He shook his head rapidly. "I'm afraid that _is_ a trade secret."

She barely resisted the urge to huff. "Fine, fine. What about sleeping? I assume you don't sleep in coffins, but can you sleep?"

"We don't need as much as a human does, but yeah, we do."

Bella made a humming noise and studied Damon trying to catalog the differences. He looked almost human, though there was a sharp quality, an otherness to his appearance that could be seen if you were looking for it.

"So, who's stronger, you or them?" she asked after a moment.

"Me, of course."

Bella scoffed and rolled her eyes. "And so humble. I wonder, is arrogance a requirement in all vampires?"

"I'm just stating a fact. There are certain disadvantages to being either type of vampire, and I will admit that their impervious skin gives them some protection that we don't have, but overall, we are the stronger breed."

She sat back in the rocking chair and stared out across the yard; her mind wandering once again to how much her life had changed in just a matter of weeks. A new type of vampire was really the least of her worries everything considered.

"It's your turn to answer a few question. How do you know the Major? I have to admit that I am surprised to see him in the company of a human girl."

A frown tugged at Bella's lips when she thought about exactly how she knew Jasper. "He doesn't really spend much time with humans typically. I'm sort of the exception to the rule as he's my ex-boyfriend's brother."

Damon looked intrigued. "Jasper is your ex-boyfriend's brother, and now you are living with him?"

"It's not like that!" Bella snapped. "He's just my friend. God, what's wrong with you?"

Damon raised his hands in surrender. "Hey, I just assumed there was something going on given how protective he was of you before."

Bella scowled. "That's why he's here—to protect me, the weak little human from the big bad world. Not that I'm even in any danger, ignoring the events of this afternoon, of course."

"Of course," he agreed. "Are you adverse to being protected? I thought most girls liked that white knight in shining armor rescuing the damsel in distress crap."

She crossed her arms over her chest. "Well, I guess I'm not most girls. I happen to hate being the damsel in distress. I want to be able to protect myself for once."

"Ah," Damon said, a knowing look on his face. "I get it. You're tired of being the weak little human. I've been where you are now, a human in love a vampire. It sucks to always have to rely on their strength. Plus, it's pretty hard to be with someone forever if you can't live forever."

Bella sighed. "Yeah. I know. You were with Katherine, right? Is she the one that turned you?"

A dark look flitted across Damon's face before his expression closed off completely. "I have to go," he told her and was gone in the blink of an eye.

She sat there and stared as the empty chair for a long moment before she went back inside. She was still feeling sweaty and dirty from the hike, so she took a long bath before grabbing her sketchbook and going into the living room where Jasper was playing a video game of some sort on a gaming system that Bella hadn't even noticed before. She was in the middle of sketching Damon as she had seen him earlier this afternoon, with his protruding veins and fangs, when Jasper turned off the TV and turned to Bella.

"I think you should be careful around Damon Salvatore," he began. "He's dangerous."

She scowled, her eyes narrowing. "And you're not? Believe me, I saw earlier how dangerous he could be."

"I _am_ dangerous, I will admit, but you know me. You don't know Damon, and if he is asking questions about Katherine, who knows what trouble he's likely to get into... you heard what I told him earlier about this Klaus. If Katherine is mixed up with him, and Damon goes looking for her, things could get dangerous. I just think it would be better for you if you stayed as far away from trouble as you can get."

"Jasper, I'm not sure if we can avoid trouble if it comes to us. I look exactly like Katherine. If Damon is right, and she has dangerous enemies, then I'm in danger no matter what. I appreciate you coming here to 'protect' me, and I definitely appreciate you helping me discover what you could about my family, but I'm not going to hide away just because I could be in danger. I think not knowing just what sort of danger I could possibly be in is more dangerous because being ignorant of danger does not make me immune to it."

He sighed. "You're right. It is better to be aware of all potential hazards."

"Plus, I don't think you have anything to worry about. I brought up his relationship with Katherine, and he took off. He was pretty mad, so I'm guessing he's not going to take me out to dinner tonight."

Jasper didn't say anything for several seconds, so Bella went back to her sketch. She ignored the fact that she could feel still feel Jasper's eyes on her. Instead, she concentrated fully on the sketch until she was finished. Damon's visage in the sketch was terrifying, but there was a beauty in it as well. She exhaled loudly as she finished the sketch and closed her sketchbook.

"Has Alice seen something about Damon? Or me?" she asked Jasper. "Is that why you're so worried?"

He shook his head. "No, she hasn't seen anything." He paused. "That she'll admit to. You know how tight-lipped she can be, and since I'm not there to read her emotions, I can't really say. She was certainly... enthusiastic about your staying here even after your breakup with Edward, and I have a feeling she is keeping some information from me, but that's all I know."

Bella listened to what Jasper said and what Jasper did not say. She had a feeling that Alice did know something. It was all starting to make sense to her. Instead of preparing for what should have been only a short-term trip to Mystic Falls, Alice had gone overboard, even for Alice. A house when Bella wouldn't be in town for more than a few weeks? A new wardrobe more suited for the climate in Virginia than that of Washington State? Why would she have taken all of the steps necessary for Bella to stay in Mystic Falls permanently if she expected her to only be there for a few weeks? Obviously, she didn't expect her to go back to Forks. Bella wasn't certain how she felt about that, but for now, she would go along with it. She trusted Alice, so for now, she wouldn't question it.

She finally shrugged. "She'll tell us when we need to know. I trust her, and I definitely know enough to not bet against her. She's probably trying to let me make my own decisions which I definitely appreciate." She left the _unlike Edward_ unsaid.

Jasper nodded. "Yes, you're probably right. Now, are we going to talk about those disappearing bruises of yours? I know they were there when you walked through the door, but there's no sign or scent of them anymore."

He grabbed one of her arms and examined the blemish free skin before doing the same to the other arm. When he was finished, he raised one of his blonde brows in question.

Bella chewed on her lower lip and looked at Jasper with wide-frightened eyes. "What am I supposed to say? You think I understand this anymore than you do? You're the vampire here."

"Has it happened before? We know your injuries from the accident didn't heal in the same manner."

She considered that. No, her injuries hadn't healed as quickly as the bruises had, but even the doctor had commented on her progress on a few of her check-ups. She had expected to spend the summer confined to her bed or couch, but here she was across the country. "Not to the same extent," she admitted.

Jasper nodded once before standing. "I'll contact a friend of ours in the Denali coven, Eleazar, tonight and see if he has any knowledge about this sort of thing. He is quite old and spent many years in the service of the Volturi. Tomorrow, I suppose, that we should see about visiting Slater. Alice told me this morning it should be cloudy in the morning. So long as we get there before the sun comes out, everything will be fine."

"Thanks Jazz," she said, giving him an appreciative smile. "So, how about you teach me how to play a video game?"

He gave her a questioning look. "You've never cared anything about video games before. Emmett has begged you to play with him in the past to no avail."

She shrugged. "I have always been more of a reader than anything else, but I think it's time I step out of my comfort zone. You going to show me how to play or not, Whitlock?"

He grinned. "Yes, ma'am. I'm always happy to oblige a pretty girl such as yourself...though I make no promises about going easy on you."

"Is that a challenge?" Bella asked with a quirk of her brow.

Jasper's grin widened. "Yes, it is."

* * *

For next time: Will Damon take her to dinner? What will they discover on their trip to Slater's? I'm not sure yet! I hope I can figure it out :)


End file.
